Creative Genius

The natural forces of healthy and sustainable growth are on display all around us—in forests and fields, in barnyards and backyards. I am just starting a second book on creativity titled Becoming a Creative Genius (naturally). It follows my first, Becoming a Creative Genius (again), overlapping the first and extending it as good creative growth is wont to do. The book will present generative concepts and creative and entrepreneurial strategies that I first discovered while observing and participating in natural forces of growth and basic human nature shaped by those forces; the concepts and strategies were then refined as I applied them over a series of start-ups and other creative work; and they weren’t fully understood until I shared these...

I've shared this research with you time and again, but it's too important to let you forget.
Researchers at the University of Munich found that staring at the color Green for 30 seconds dramatically improves subsequent creative performance.You'll find more information about the research on my site; there is a PDF of a creative green card for you to print out and keep close at hand--you'll find it by simply scrolling down on the home page at www.creativegenius.carlnordgren.com
I stare at mine throughout the day. I also painted my office walls green.
...

And please remember this always: When we were four 98% of us scored as creative genius on an assessment NASA had developed to identify the most innovative scientists and engineers. http://creativegenius.carlnordgren.com/research/
Once upon a time, when we were four, we had a bias for action. Our bias for action was so powerful teachers and parents would often tell us to stop, to please stop, and sit still or come to the table or go to bed.
Our bias for action was informed by our knowing—without knowing we knew?—that it was through our bias for action that we learned the most important stuff we had to learn.
When we faced a new challenge or opportunity we didn’t stand there and figure out the best...

Did you know that 98% of us are born with a creative genius? And that the World Economic Forum recently determined creativity will drive our future successes?
I am hosting a fun and action-packed workshop on May 4th from 6:30 to 7:30 pm at the Southern Regional branch of the Durham Public Library. This workshop will help you grow your creative capacity and develop your entrepreneurial instincts; you’ll develop skills that will serve you in all aspects of your life...

I've shared the first before because it is so very easy to apply to boost your creative performance:
Researchers out of the University of Munich found that staring at the color green for 30 seconds dramatically improves your subsequent creative performance...

Relying on 30+ years of experiences as an entrepreneur followed by 14 years designing courses in creativity and entrepreneurship for Duke Students, I’ve identified 4 Generative Behaviors that serve our creative and entrepreneurial growth and performance most effectively. When you practice these four behaviors intentionally as you navigate your daily life they will help you steadily grow your creative capacity and develop your entrepreneurial instincts. And when you are focused on a creative or entrepreneurial project, applying these behaviors will improve your outcomes.
Folks easily embrace Being Generous as Being Generative as one of the behaviors even before they learn that generous and generative come from the same Latin word generos, to produce. They have fun with Being Playful—it makes intuitive...

For years those words from Goethe guided my teaching and challenged my students.
As a teaching guide it disciplined me to avoid defining the creative concepts I introduced to students. Instead I tried to surround these new ideas, providing multiple perspectives, and urged students to think about these concepts for themselves, to shape their own understanding of these creative ideas and entrepreneurial strategies, an understanding that was most useful to their purposes. It worked well for them.
And as a challenge for my students? Well, these were highly successful young men and women at a world class university who had worked their butts off for pretty much their entire lives in order to know so they could pass the next test, then...

Many of us are convinced that the crucial early accomplishment in the creatively entrepreneurial process of building something new is producing the Plan.
That is the first step in corporations and has been their model for a long time. Rushing to complete the Plan is a practice most other institutions—schools, non-profits, governments—and many individuals have taken up.
It seems a necessary practice in corporations, this immediate production of the Plan. Because they have many creative initiatives and projects underway, of course each needs a Budget; fiscal responsibility demands it. And to establish a Budget, each project needs a Plan of what is to be built and the resources needed to build it.
That means that when the team is most ignorant about what...

It’s simple.
What the heck does "out of the box thinking" mean?
Does it mean the same thing to you each time you say it?
Are you certain it means the same thing to you as it does to him or to her?
If instead you have to find the words that capture the creative dynamic you are considering when you say "out of the box thinking" doesn’t it serve you to do so, and then to say it out loud?
Isn’t it a bit of a creative workout to challenge yourself to find a new way to express what you mean?
Might that lead to new understanding on your part?
If creative and entrepreneurial thinking and behavior busts the status quo, why be restricted by status...

The folks at Innovate Carolina have been putting on great conferences on innovation for a few years now, and they have another coming up in RTP in April. http://www.innovatecarolina.org/2017-conference-1/
The theme for this one is “Accelerating Ideas to Market” which sounds like something we’d all be interested in, and I was especially intrigued by this supporting concept they promise to explore:
“How do we do a better job speeding up innovation in the "front end", generating and evaluating more ideas more quickly, without narrowing the scope of the ideas or simply making innovation processes more efficient but less disruptive?”
Since considering this question from the perspectiveS of a serial entrepreneur and a student of creative work—and after I took it for a walk...

Carl Nordgren is a best-selling author, professor, and entrepreneur. At Duke, he teaches students about creative entrepreneurship, and his work as a fishing guide has helped shape the subject matter on which he writes.

Latest Tweets

Last week I asked you all if you had any creative or entrepreneurial lessons you learned from nature. Here's my favo…https://t.co/oGivUnSQto

For folks in the RTP area! I am offering another free workshop designed to help you grow your creative capacity and…https://t.co/HTcIJfj4SC

What’s your favorite creativity lesson that you learned from nature?
The natural forces of healthy and sustainable growth are on display a…